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Israel Adesanya claims he will just fight ‘For fun’ after UFC 293 title loss: ‘The belts never mattered to me’

Former two-time undisputed middleweight champion has claimed he will not pout his efforts toward recapturing the divisional crown, and striking himself as a three-time gold holder, however, stresses he is now just fighting “fun fun” after his loss to Sean Strickland at UFC 293 earlier this month. Adesanya, a two-time undisputed middleweight champion under the […]

Adesanya, a two-time undisputed middleweight champion under the banner of the UFC, headlined the promotion’s return ‘Down Under’ to Sydney, Australia earlier this month, slumping to his second title loss in less than a year, as he dropped a one-sided unanimous decision loss to Sean Strickland.

Having lost the middleweight championship back in November of last year to a fifth round rallying TKO defeat to Brazilian rival, Alex Pereira at Madison Square Garden, City Kickboxing ace, Adesanya reclaimed the title with an April win over the former – stopping him with a second round KO in Miami, Florida.

Israel Adesanya breaks silence after UFC 293 title loss earlier this month

However, pegged to compete for middleweight spoils in an immediate championship rematch with Strickland by UFC CEO, Dana White in the immediate aftermath of his loss, Nigerian-Kiwi striker, Adesanya has claimed he will now only compete “for fun” as he plots a third title ascension.

“The belts never mattered to me,” Israel Adesanya said on his official YouTube channel. “I mean, it does obviously, but how many times have I said it’s just a fancy tiara that brings more money and this and that, rah, rah, rah.”

“That belt is just a nice accessory,” Israel Adesanya explained. “I’ve already got belts, I have many belts. I’m just going to do it again. Just for for – just for fun.”

Reflecting on his shocking upset loss to Covina native, Strickland at UFC 293, Adesanya described the bout as a “bad dream” – claiming he was unable to set up any of his offensive action throughout the five round back-and-forth.

Who would you like to see Israel Adesanya fight in his UFC return?

Israel Adesanya breaks silence, felt like loss to Sean Strickland at UFC 293 was a ‘Bad dream’

Israel Adesanya has finally opened up about his shocking loss to Sean Strickland at UFC 293. On September 9, ‘The Last Stylebender’ stepped into his latest title defense as a massive 7-to-1 favorite. 25 minutes later, Israel Adesanya was understandably dejected after delivering a flat performance that resulted in Sean Strickland securing his first world […]

Israel Adesanya has finally opened up about his shocking loss to Sean Strickland at UFC 293.

On September 9, ‘The Last Stylebender’ stepped into his latest title defense as a massive 7-to-1 favorite. 25 minutes later, Israel Adesanya was understandably dejected after delivering a flat performance that resulted in Sean Strickland securing his first world title. Eager to unravel the mystery of what went wrong, fans were waiting with bated breath to hear from Adesanya following the loss. Instead, the ‘Stylebender’ left his coach, Eugene Bareman to field questions on his behalf at the post-fight press conference.

More than a week removed from the upset, Israel Adesanya shed some light on his mindset following the bout and what went wrong in an interview on the two-time titleholder’s YouTube channel.

“Like a bad dream,” Adesanya said when asked about how he felt following the defeat. “One of those where you, not even a nightmare. A nightmare is like, ‘Oh sh*t. F*ck.’ A nightmare, you’re scared. I was just like, you try to hit the guy, and it just felt like noodle arms. Like, ‘What the f*ck.’ It just felt like a bad dream.

“Feeling it and watching it were completely different. I called Eugene (Bareman) right after and we talked and the same thing. We’re quietly confident.”

Continuing to speak about that night, Israel Adesanya gave credit where credit was due, complimenting Sean Strickland’s game plan and his ability to switch gears on the fly. Something he was unable to do.

“I just wasn’t able to get my rhythm because of his pressure,” Adesanya said. “He was right there constantly. Whenever I was setting him up, because he was right there, his coach would help him out, and I would be like, ‘F*ck.’ Good game plan from them, but also for me, I wasn’t able to adjust on the fly. It was his night. It was his night and yeah, he got it done. I made another dream come true.”

What Comes Next for Israel Adesanya?

As for what comes next, Israel Adesanya has every intention of getting back inside the Octagon and having some fun whether it’s for a title or not.

“We’ll see,” Adesanya said on a return. “No, the belt has never mattered to me. How many times have I said it’s just a fancy tiara? The belt is just a nice accessory. I already got belts. I got many belts. I’m going to do it again just for fun, just for fun.”

With two title losses in less than a year, fans are seemingly ready to see some new blood compete for the middleweight title. Sean Strickland’s coach, Eric Nicksick, suggested ‘Tarzan’ could be back in action as early as December for a potential clash with South African standout Dricus Du Plessis. That’s assuming the UFC doesn’t book a rematch between Strickland and ‘The Last Stylebender.’

If Adesanya does not secure another opportunity to reclaim the middleweight title, who would you like to see him fight in his next outing?

Israel Adesanya ‘Quietly Confident’ He’d Win Rematch vs. Sean Strickland After Loss

Israel Adesanya said in a YouTube video posted Wednesday that he is “quietly confident” he would beat Sean Strickland in a rematch. “I’m quietly confident,”…

Dana White praises Israel Adesanya after UFC 293 loss: ‘He was willing to fight anybody, anywhere, anytime’

Despite revealing he has yet to hear from former two-time undisputed middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya after his title loss at UFC 293 to Sean Strickland, promotional CEO, Dana White has praised the City Kickboxing staple for accepting fights “anywhere and anytime”. Headlining UFC 293 earlier this month in the promotion’s return to Sydney, Australia, Adesanya […]

Headlining UFC 293 earlier this month in the promotion’s return to Sydney, Australia, Adesanya dropped his undisputed middleweight title in a unanimous decision loss to massive underdog challenger, Sean Strickland as the Octagon landed ‘Down Under’.

Suffering his second championship loss in the space of 10 months, Adesanya had suffered his first middleweight loss in mixed martial arts back in November of last year at Madison Square Garden – dropping a fifth round standing TKO loss to Brazilian arch-rival, Alex Pereira.

Briefly reclaiming the title at UFC 287 back in April, Adesanya stopped Pereira with a stunning second round KO win in Miami, Florida, prior to dropping the title in hugely upsetting fashion earlier this month to Strickland in Australia.

Dana White heaps praise on ex-champion Israel Adesanya after UFC 293 loss

And remaining entirely coy after his title loss against Strickland, Adesanya has been praised by UFC boss, White – who revealed the Nigerian-Kiwi has since travelled to Los Angeles, insisting the ex-champion will contact him when he wants to return to fighting.

“I know he’s in L.A. right now, working on some stuff, but no, I haven’t talked to him,” Dana White told assembled media of Israel Adesanya after the Contender Series.

“One of the things we were talking about this week too – that we always love about Israel Adesanya; Israel was willing to fight anybody, anywhere, anytime,” White explained. “Love to turn around quickly and fight again and when he wants to fight, he’ll let us know.” (Transcribed by MMA News)

What’s next for Israel Adesanya after his UFC 293 title loss?

The UFC cover curse strikes again as Adesanya and Shevchenko come up short in consecutive weeks

The UFC cover curse has claimed two victims in the span of a week. Despite entering his UFC 293 title fight as a significant 7-to-1 favorite, Israel Adesanya came up short and surrendered his gold to Sean Strickland in a lopsided defeat that stunned fight fans around the world. A week later, flyweight great Valentina […]

The UFC cover curse has claimed two victims in the span of a week.

Despite entering his UFC 293 title fight as a significant 7-to-1 favorite, Israel Adesanya came up short and surrendered his gold to Sean Strickland in a lopsided defeat that stunned fight fans around the world.

A week later, flyweight great Valentina Shevchenko failed to regain the 125-pound title after her rematch with Alexa Grasso at Noche was controversially ruled a split draw.

Both fighters were revealed to be cover athletes for the EA Sports UFC 5 video game scheduled to be released on October, 27. Coincidence? Perhaps, but this is not the first time that a fighter has suffered a massive defeat shortly after seeing their mug slapped on the cover of the popular video game series.

Now I can officially say it… the UFC 5 Cover Curse is real and in full effect. #UFCNoche #UFC5 pic.twitter.com/fzlt14djbd

— TheUfcFan (@Carl24040976) September 17, 2023

For football fans in North America, all of this probably sounds familiar. The Madden Curse was something that had seemingly plagued players on the gridiron for years. It almost became an annual trend to watch how the latest cover athlete would see their career completely collapse. Daunte Culpepper, Marshall Faulk, Michael Vick, Vince Young, Adrian Peterson, and even NFL legend Brett Favre all found themselves suffering the wrath of the curse at one time or another.

Unfortunately, it appears the curse is not limited to one sport.

Are you Convinced That the UFC Cover Curse is Real?

Need some additional evidence? Welterweight fan favorite Jorge Masvidal was revealed to be the cover athlete for UFC 4 in 2020. That same year, he suffered a unanimous decision loss to then-titleholder Kamaru Usman. In fact, ‘Gamebred’ would not win another fight and announced his retirement in 2023 following a four-fight losing streak.

In 2018, Irish megastar Conor McGregor was revealed as the cover athlete for UFC 3. The Notorious’ would go on to suffer a fourth-round rear-naked choke defeat at the hands of UFC Hall of Famer Khabib Nurmagomedov. McGregor has since lost two of his last three inside the Octagon and broke his leg in the opening round of a trilogy bout with Dustin Poirier in 2021. He has not returned to the cage since.

Ronda Rousey, who appeared in the UFC 3 artwork alongside McGregor, found herself on the wrong side of a 48-second knockout courtesy of Amanda Nunes after being announced as a cover athlete. She retired from the sport shortly after.

With the curse claiming Israel Adeanya’s middleweight title and Valentina Shevchenko’s hopes of becoming a two-time champion this year, is it just a matter of time before featherweight king Alexander Volkanovski, who will also appear on the cover of UFC 5, relinquishes his 145-pound crown?

Jon Anik shares thoughts on Israel Adesanya’s loss to Sean Strickland at UFC 293: ‘Anything can happen’

UFC commentator Jon Anik gives his thoughts on Israel Adesanya’s recent loss to Sean Strickland at UFC 293. To say Strickland’s recent title win was a shock is an understatement. While the American had proven himself as a competent top-10 middleweight, hardly any analyst, fighter or media member picked him to win. However, he did […]

UFC commentator Jon Anik gives his thoughts on Israel Adesanya’s recent loss to Sean Strickland at UFC 293.

To say Strickland’s recent title win was a shock is an understatement. While the American had proven himself as a competent top-10 middleweight, hardly any analyst, fighter or media member picked him to win.

However, he did Strickland would drop Adesanya in the first round and would continue to walk down and win a comfortable decision. Many have talked about Adesanya’s lack of performance rather than Strickland’s outstanding one.

Jon Anik gives his thoughts on Israel Adesanya’s performance

Talking to MMA Fighting, Jon Anik would give his thoughts on the recent title fighting and would give an honest and fair assessment. Anik claimed that while Strickland was always capable, Adesanya could have been overlooking his opponent going into the bout.

“This sport oftentimes produces the unthinkable,” Anik said. “And anything can and does happen in some of these other sports, but just not with the frequency with which it happens in our sport. And there were a lot of people asking me if there was betting value on Sean Strickland, and I didn’t even necessarily know how to answer that question.

“Was he capable of this masterpiece? Yes. Can he execute like this again? I would think probably. But I do believe that the other side discounted him a little bit and didn’t necessarily understand what he was capable of, and they paid the ultimate price.” (H/T MMA News)

It isn’t clear if the UFC will pursue a rematch between Strickland and Adesanya, or whether Strickland will take on one of the other middleweight contenders.

Jon Anik gives thoughts on Israel Adesanya Vs. Sean Strickland via MMA Fighting

Do you agree with Jon Anik’s assessment of Israel Adesanya Vs. Sean Strickland